“My only concern is that signs don't vote,” quipped Naperville City Council candidate Mike Strick on Facebook after loading up his truck with 300 signs and posting the image to his online campaign page on Thursday.
Undeterred by his recent defeat for state representative of Illinois’ 84th District, Strick recently told Naperville Magazine that as a business operator, he considers himself uniquely qualified for a city council seat.
He is running against four incumbents and three fellow challengers.
Strick grew up on Chicago’s south side with two siblings. His mother, who emigrated from Germany, became a single parent when Strick was a child. He cultivated a strong work ethic early on, he told the magazine.
Strick has operated Oil Zone/Wash Zone auto service and maintenance shops in Naperville and Wheaton locations since 1998. He and his wife raised three children, all now in their 20s.
“I have balanced my budgets, hired many employees, purchased capital equipment and work with the public on a daily basis,” he said. “I am a fiscal conservative, and I will be a hawk for taxpayer dollars … I will govern through my life experiences to do more with less.”
Strict has focused on multiple goals, including a balanced budget, fair redistricting, pension reform and investment in education and social services — as well as an overriding aim to remove Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) from office. He even ran a website called Nomoremadigan.com.
In November, Strick told the DuPage Policy Journal about his worries for Illinois.
“I just believe Illinois is mired in corruption,” Strick said. “Something’s got to change. I really just can’t understand why people want to keep paying high taxes … losing businesses left and right, not having term limits, not having districts that are equal in consistency of Republicans and Democrats. It’s just mind-boggling.”
Strick is now running in a jurisdiction that has been described as appearing slightly more equitable than the state-level scenario. According to Naperville Magazine’s recent profile, Naperville City Council members “represent the interests of the whole city, placing no emphasis on one neighborhood over another.”
Strick, who serves as a Republican precinct committeeman, cites escalating property taxes as the single most important issue facing Naperville.
“I truly find Naperville’s property taxes are getting to the point of unsustainability,” the said. “I support a property tax freeze. I would support meaningful cuts to reduce taxes and place capital projects on the back burner to accumulate cash to pay for them instead of borrowing money to pay for them.”
An all-around self-starter, Strick still carries over his interest in athletics from his youth, when he played football at Northern Illinois University, with memberships on the Wheatland Athletic Association and Naperville Youth Football League boards. Additionally, he is active with the local YMCA and Sigma Pi fraternity.
“Mike is a fiscal watchdog,” a post by his campaign group, Mike Strick for Naperville City Council, said earlier this week. “He will keep an eye on your [hard-earned] tax dollars and will ask the tough questions.”
“My truck is loaded and ready to go,” Strick said.
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